This blog follows and explains the processes behind interesting geological events. The emphasis is on those events that are energetic, explosive, and have led to, or have the potential to lead to, disasters.

Welcome!

This blog provides commentary on interesting geological events occurring around the world in the context of my own work. This work is, broadly, geological fluid dynamics. The events that I highlight here are those that resonate with my professional life and ideas, and my goal is to interpret them in the context of ideas I've developed in my research. The blog does not represent any particular research agenda. It is written on a personal basis and does not seek to represent the University of Illinois, where I am a professor of geology and physics. Enjoy Geology in Motion! I would be glad to be alerted to geologic events of interest to post here! I hope that this blog can provide current event materials that will make geology come alive.

Friday, March 11, 2011

A shallow earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude of 8.9 has hit off the coast of Japan. Friends in Japan, our thoughts are with you.
The islands of the Japanese archipelago lie on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a swath of tectonic activity that surrounds the Pacific ocean basin. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur here where large plates on the earth's surface collide. In the western Pacific, the Pacific Ocean plate is forced down (subducted) beneath the Eurasian Plate. Sediment and water are scraped off the subducted plate, melt, and rise up to form islands, such as Japan. Subduction is not a smooth process, but occurs in fits and starts as stresses build up between the plates and are then released in fault motions and earthquakes. In detail, Japan's tectonic setting is very complicated with many different faults, and interaction with a third plate, the Philippine plate (see map below from Wiki that illustrates this. At least two articles in the New York Times have said erroneously that the tectonic activity arises from a collision between the Pacific and North American plates!)
The earthquake was offshore, about 230 miles from Tokyo. This is the largest earthquake to hit Japan in recorded history, and larger than expected by geologists. Susan Hough of the USGS said that it was bigger than the 8-8.5 that head been expected for the area. A tsunami warning is posted for around the Pacific, with some estimates of waves 5 meters (17 feet) in height. There are four nuclear power plants in the vicinity of the maximum damage and people had been evacuated as a precaution because there were some troubles cooling one reactor. It appeared that all four had been safely shut down, but it has proven difficult or impossible to cool two of them. There is confusing information about whether or not there have been small releases of nuclear materials. Here is a March 11 (evening, EDT) New York Times article on the situation with two of the reactors.

Tectonic setting of Japan, simplified
From Wiki. Satellite view is public domain, NASA
More information on aftershocks as of March 15 is atthis USGS link.

Cnn.com is carrying live news, and it's repetitious to repeat it here. Aftershocks greater than M6 are frequent and at least 2of magnitude 7.1 have been recorded. A rule of thumb is that aftershocks can be as large as the earthquake minus one magnitude (8.91=7.9), so more magnitude 7 quakes are likely. The world stock markets are dropping because Tokyo, a financial hub of the world, is badly hit.
The best documentation that I have ever seen of the size and power of a tsunami is this video from CNN.com of the events in Sendai, Nitori City and several other places. The opening shot of white foam-crested tsunami waves approaching the shore is stunning. Initially, relatively clear water moves ships around in a slow-motion ballet, and then as it picks up more cars and boats, they are driven chaotically driven inland, under bridges that still carry cars and people over the chaotic waters below. Ugly lobes of black water and mud carry mats of cars, buildings, and crushed buildings across highways and farm fields, sweeping all in its path away. Burning buildings float on the mat as if unaware of the watery conveyor belt. Frothy white water covers fields and airplane runways. In this video, cars from a manufacturing plant (?) have caught fire, an eerie scene that looks like the Boy Scouts gathered cars for kindling instead of wood. These videos have several parts separated by commercials, and may change with time as CNN edits their footage.Here an oil refinery or chemical plant has caught fire. This is a video that shows a longer clip of the ships from the port of Kamaishi being swept under a bridge. It is an especially interesting video because at the beginning the tsunami is not very deep (a few meters?) and there is an obvious hydraulic jump (white wave) on the left side of the bridge where water pours over a lip. Within seconds, the water level rises and the hydraulic jump disappears under the bridge, and then emerges as white water and waves on the right side of the bridge. Amazing that people remain standing and driving on the bridge!Here's a different view of the tsunami advancing. Note the lobate fronts and the moving burning buildings. This video of the tsunami advancing onto Rikuzentataka gives a new meaning to the word inexorable. Again, this video may be linked to some others in a sequence, so there may be two or three scenes. With some redundancy, there is a good helicopter shot of different parts of the advancing tsunami front here, as well as shots that show the big whirlpool circulation.
The Big Picture, a Boston.com site devoted to telling news stories in photographs, has a collection of striking pictures is here. Picture #10 is especially interesting if anyone can help tell why such a large whirlpool formed! #36 is an amazing shot of a fault running right down the center stripe of a highway. This NYTimes site has good footage of boats being swept away at Brookings, Oregon, of the tsunami coming onshore at Crescent City, California (a place known for tsunami hazards). It had a video of the tsunami engulfing the nuclear power plant that is having problems in Japan, but now "it has been removed by the user." Wonder what that means?

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==>My book:The Dynamics of Disaster <==

Published by W.W. Norton--Click on image to go to Amazon.com

Synopsis of Book and Reviews

If you want to learn a bit of the science behind earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, rogue waves, cyclones and hurricanes, and tornadoes, this is an introduction that weaves together stories of various disasters--some barely known to much of the world--their causes and dynamics, and some suggested actions we can take to protect ourselves. The book is available both in paper and as an audio CD.

''Geologist Kieffer argues that we don't understand disasters as well as we should. She contrasts 'stealth disasters' caused by long-term human impact, including climate change and soil erosion, with natural disasters or 'acts of God,' which are also increasingly affected by human actions . . . [A] highly accessible look at disasters.'' --Booklist

"Kieffer's brisk and lucid presentation has some of the relish with which surgeons reputedly regale each other with tales from the operating theatre. Laid out before the reader are the suppurating wounds, scalds, tremors, and scars acquired by the Earth over millennia, centuries, decades, or minutes."--Claudio Vita-Finzi in The Times of London

"If you are an amateur weather geek, disaster wonk or budding student of the earth sciences, you will want to read this book. (If you're squeamish, skip the chapter titled "A Plague of Snakes.")--Seattle Times by Mary Ann Gwinn

"[T]he clarity of Kieffer’s writing, coupled with her careful choice of supporting graphics, makes the content engaging and accessible to a wide readership." Alison Stokes in TheTimesHigherEducation

“In The Dynamics of Disaster, famed geoscientist Susan Kieffer merges stories and science in a fascinating introduction to the dangerous side of the Earth, with key insights for citizens and enough excitement to captivate the full range of students.”—Richard B. Alley, author of Earth: The Operator’s Manual

"Both general readers and working scientists will enjoy this well-written book--and learn some things they did not know...Summing up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through professionals; general audiences."--by Seth Stein in Choice Reviews Online (of the American Library Association), April 2014

"This [impressive] book ought to be placed in the hands of politicians, engineers, insurance assessors and, frankly, anyone who sees sense in understanding the processes and systems that guide our planet." --Geographical, December 2013, by Jonathan Wright

This book is part of a recent trend--one that is just beginning, but is likely to grow--in which scientists, especially young ones, seek to move beyond the "disasters are bad" view presented in beginner classes to a more sophisticated and nuanced view…Seth Stein in Physics World (U.K.)

"It is like a "Magic School Bus" outing for adults, with Kieffer acting as Ms. Frizzle, guiding the reader around the world to disaster hotspots, where she analyzes and breaks down the physical characteristics that contribute to events in those areas."--Summit Daily, December 20, 2013

#1 in list of Best Sellers: Geology, from May 2013 to March 2014. LibraryJournal.com